"You must have had some great snorkeling today," exclaimed Ernie, who sat across from his wife Linda in their usual dinner seats by the window.
While all of us in this section had apparently requested tables for two, the spacing between them was less than a foot, so in many ways it felt like we sat at a long, family table. The subtle difference was seen when a couple chose to keep entirely to themselves, in which case their eyes rarely diverted from their own menus or dinner dates.
The jovial bearded man with his wife one table over also beamed, adding, "So much beautiful blue water on all sides around Antigua."
With 365 beaches---one for every day of the year according to Antigua advertisements---it probably seemed like a sure thing that we had snorkeled again.
"You would think so, but not today."
With bar service, lounge chairs with umbrellas for rent ($18), WiFi ($2 extra) and restrooms, Dickenson Bay seemed like a good alternative.
When Julie took the first snorkel, however, she found the water too murky to see anything. Another snorkeler she met as he exited the water had told her not to expect more than that.
Rather than take my usual turn snorkeling, I decided to accept Julie's report as a final judgement. To be perfectly candid, I really would have just as soon stayed on the ship that day anyway, to simply relax and enjoy the modern luxury environs of Celebrity Eclipse after so many port great days in a row.
On this particular cruise, there were many sun-seekers from Europe, Canada and the Northeast USA who had returned to cruise the Caribbean mainly for the sunny weather, and some of them said the best part of the trip was staying aboard the mostly empty ship during port days.
On this particular cruise, there were many sun-seekers from Europe, Canada and the Northeast USA who had returned to cruise the Caribbean mainly for the sunny weather, and some of them said the best part of the trip was staying aboard the mostly empty ship during port days.
In any case, I was up to my eyeballs, so to speak, in mask and snorkel experiences already. While we had come to the warm waters of the Caribbean to swim with fishes, I knew I would be snorkeling again over the next two days, so I was content to relax on the lounge chair by the beautiful blue sea and read "Dissolution," a book I'd found in the ship's library.
The setting of that book is a dank, dark monastery during a frigid winter in 16th Century Cromwellian England, which contrasted completely with the reality of a bright, sunny day on the beach.
By the time Julie returned to our loungers, two lifeguards had set up a stand 15 feet in front of our immovable umbrella, obstructing our ocean view a bit, but we decided to just stay put, because for the most part we would be reading, interspersed occasionally taking dips in the ocean to cool off. Besides, if someone started to drown, we would have a ringside seat for a rescue.
At one point, I walked down the beach to a beautiful Sandals Resort, which had ample sail boats and other non-motorized watercraft available for their guests, most of whom seemed more inclined to recline on the beach in their lounge chairs. Sandals has floating, circular platforms (about 20 feet in diameter) that are tethered to the sea floor 60 yards off shore. I decided to check out one of the empty ones, and it was a very pleasant place to lay half-submerged in the warm water under the azure blue sky. I obviously wasn't authorized to do that, but I wanted to experience it on behalf of anyone considering a Sandals vacation in Antigua.
Research, you know.
It was very cool, with the platform slowly rotating to alternate views of the shore and then of boats, without the hard work of changing position or turning my head.
While food was available at the beach, we decided to head back to the ship for a very late lunch. The selection is always great.
I remember one lunch in particular as epitomizing the range, when Julie chose a gourmet hot dog and french fries from the poolside grill while I enjoyed some healthier but delicious choices from the Aqua Spa Cafe. For most lunches on board, I dined on curried fish and other Indian delicacies from that designated area of the incredible buffet.
You can't eat all the time on a cruise---well, actually you can, but you really shouldn't---and Julie usually likes to read by the pool when she has free time on board. I frequently join her, but because I had read a lot on the beach, I was ready for something different. When our kids cruise with us, we often play Bridge or trivia games, but going alone isn't all that comfortable of an experience for me, as a basically shy person.
I had noticed several great movies on demand in our stateroom, so I watched "A Walk In the Woods" with Nick Nolte and Robert Redford. Lest I be misunderstood, they weren't in the room with me; they starred in that movie as two old friends who take on a travel challenge no one thinks they can accomplish. Julie had previously said she had no interest in seeing that flick, so this was a good time to watch it. The jokes weren't any more fresh than the actors, and I would guess it wouldn't suit everyone, but I found it funny.
When the movie ended, it was time for our daily Happy Hour ritual. First, we went up to the beautifully futuristic Sky Observation Lounge on Deck 14, which has panoramic views from its floor to ceiling windows. After a drink there, sometimes indulging in one or two complimentary hors d'oeuvres, we would head down to the Ensemble Lounge on Deck 5, where a classical string duo was usually performing. The bar staff of the Ensemble Lounge was one of the most efficient I've experienced anywhere. It happened to be one deck above our dining room, so it made a nice stop on our way. We would order goblets of wine, often bringing the better part of those drinks to dinner with us, much to the consternation of the wine steward who always received "Not tonight, thanks" as the answer when she asked if we would like to order a bottle.
The fact that every night at dinner we came in raving about great snorkeling became something of a joke for the others, whether regulars or irregulars, in our seating section.
All of us were on flexible "My Time" dining, without assigned dinner tables or appointed times, but we all usually showed up around 6 to 6:15 PM. The ship's chaplain, Father Diaz, sat next to me every night, leading to lively discussions about political as well as religious issues, and I'm afraid my staunch defense of Israel, among other controversial subjects, might have bothered his digestion.
One evening, a couple from New York, Stuart and Madeline, sat next to us. Our two daughters live in New York, triggering a conversation Madeline clarified that they now live in the suburbs of Rockland County. "What a coincidence. Our oldest daughter and her family live in Rockland County."
"Really, what city?"
"New City."
"NO! We live in New City!"
Small world.
On Celebrity, dinner is always great, with wonderful service and food. We sometimes frustrated our waiter Henry and his assistant Jose by skipping desert in order to make it to an early performance or other event. They seemed to take it as a personal affront if we didn't order all the courses and eat everything, but not in a bad way. They never ordered us go to bed early for not cleaning our plates.
That was good, because we wouldn't have liked missing the terrific nighttime entertainment. A pleasant surprise was how the production show singers, including the beautifully fit Nicola Ward, could rock. The orchestra played any kind of music with aplomb, including metal rock with searing guitar solos. You may be surprised to learn that this brought the crowd, most of whom on this 14-night cruise would qualify for AARP cards, to their feet applauding at the conclusion of every show, indicating Celebrity knows their audience.
By 10:30 PM, we put ourselves to bed every night, because we wanted to be full of energy to begin the next day.
If you're someone who enjoys the night life and wants to hang with a hipper crowd, however, I recommend late dining, especially if you're coming from the West Coast, which has a substantial time change. 6:00 PM in California is 9:00 in Miami and 10:00 in the Southern Caribbean, so your stomach shouldn't have trouble adjusting.
If you like to sleep on the beach or by the pool in the daytime, perhaps you can burn the candle at both ends, but we needed to rest up to snorkel in our next port...wherever that might be in the Caribbean.
You can't eat all the time on a cruise---well, actually you can, but you really shouldn't---and Julie usually likes to read by the pool when she has free time on board. I frequently join her, but because I had read a lot on the beach, I was ready for something different. When our kids cruise with us, we often play Bridge or trivia games, but going alone isn't all that comfortable of an experience for me, as a basically shy person.
I had noticed several great movies on demand in our stateroom, so I watched "A Walk In the Woods" with Nick Nolte and Robert Redford. Lest I be misunderstood, they weren't in the room with me; they starred in that movie as two old friends who take on a travel challenge no one thinks they can accomplish. Julie had previously said she had no interest in seeing that flick, so this was a good time to watch it. The jokes weren't any more fresh than the actors, and I would guess it wouldn't suit everyone, but I found it funny.
When the movie ended, it was time for our daily Happy Hour ritual. First, we went up to the beautifully futuristic Sky Observation Lounge on Deck 14, which has panoramic views from its floor to ceiling windows. After a drink there, sometimes indulging in one or two complimentary hors d'oeuvres, we would head down to the Ensemble Lounge on Deck 5, where a classical string duo was usually performing. The bar staff of the Ensemble Lounge was one of the most efficient I've experienced anywhere. It happened to be one deck above our dining room, so it made a nice stop on our way. We would order goblets of wine, often bringing the better part of those drinks to dinner with us, much to the consternation of the wine steward who always received "Not tonight, thanks" as the answer when she asked if we would like to order a bottle.
 |
| A running joke I quite liked was our table mates called me Burt Reynolds, because I reminded them of Bandit. |
All of us were on flexible "My Time" dining, without assigned dinner tables or appointed times, but we all usually showed up around 6 to 6:15 PM. The ship's chaplain, Father Diaz, sat next to me every night, leading to lively discussions about political as well as religious issues, and I'm afraid my staunch defense of Israel, among other controversial subjects, might have bothered his digestion.
One evening, a couple from New York, Stuart and Madeline, sat next to us. Our two daughters live in New York, triggering a conversation Madeline clarified that they now live in the suburbs of Rockland County. "What a coincidence. Our oldest daughter and her family live in Rockland County."
"Really, what city?"
"New City."
"NO! We live in New City!"
Small world.
On Celebrity, dinner is always great, with wonderful service and food. We sometimes frustrated our waiter Henry and his assistant Jose by skipping desert in order to make it to an early performance or other event. They seemed to take it as a personal affront if we didn't order all the courses and eat everything, but not in a bad way. They never ordered us go to bed early for not cleaning our plates.
That was good, because we wouldn't have liked missing the terrific nighttime entertainment. A pleasant surprise was how the production show singers, including the beautifully fit Nicola Ward, could rock. The orchestra played any kind of music with aplomb, including metal rock with searing guitar solos. You may be surprised to learn that this brought the crowd, most of whom on this 14-night cruise would qualify for AARP cards, to their feet applauding at the conclusion of every show, indicating Celebrity knows their audience.
By 10:30 PM, we put ourselves to bed every night, because we wanted to be full of energy to begin the next day.
If you're someone who enjoys the night life and wants to hang with a hipper crowd, however, I recommend late dining, especially if you're coming from the West Coast, which has a substantial time change. 6:00 PM in California is 9:00 in Miami and 10:00 in the Southern Caribbean, so your stomach shouldn't have trouble adjusting.
If you like to sleep on the beach or by the pool in the daytime, perhaps you can burn the candle at both ends, but we needed to rest up to snorkel in our next port...wherever that might be in the Caribbean.
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